Delhi Police on Thursday said that “Khalistan Zindabad” and other anti-national slogans that cropped up as graffiti on walls in at least 10 locations in the national capital have been removed.

Graffiti written in Gurmukhi and Hindi with ‘Khalistan Zindabad’, and ‘Referendum 2020’ was seen painted on a wall in the Paschim Vihar area of the capital city today. The development comes days ahead of Republic Day celebrations for which security has been stepped up in the city. Delhi Police said that it is not a “security-related issue” and that legal action would be taken against those involved in the matter.

“Anti-national, Khalistan-related graffiti appeared overnight at some locations in Delhi. The graffiti appears to have been painted under the cover of darkness and appeared in deserted and empty places. This is not a security-related issue. Legal action will be taken in this matter,” Suman Nalwa, the Public Relations Officer of Delhi Police told ANI.

The PRO highlighted that Delhi Police has put in place robust security arrangements for January 26. “The focus of our security is January 26. Every unit of Delhi Police is working to ensure that no untoward incident takes place,” the Delhi Police PRO said.

The official further pointed out that the outfit Sikhs for Justice, which is banned in India could be behind such activities and it is resorting to such tactics to remain in news. The official said that legal action would be initiated against those “aiding them”.

“SFJ is a banned organisation. The Internet has no limitations. Whenever they do something, they do so under some other name. It is a little difficult but legal action will be taken. We will also take action against those who are aiding them. They only want to be in the news with such activities,” the Delhi Police PRO said.

Further investigation into the matter is underway. There have been sporadic instances in the country where public buildings were vandalised with pro-Khalistani slogans.

Earlier on July 6 last year, Karnal Police arrested a Patiala-based man, identified as Manjeet, for writing “pro-Khalistan slogans” on the walls of two educational institutions on June 20, and said that the accused was promised to pay USD 1,000 by a US-based person for accomplishing the job.

In another incident in May last year in Himachal Pradesh a resident of Punjab was arrested for allegedly putting Khalistani flags outside the State Assembly.